Tensions flare amid first steps of recount

As exhausted candidates and their staffs staggered toward the end of a grueling week, the machinery of yet another Minnesota recount began to grind away -- not entirely smoothly.

DFLer Mark Dayton spent Friday juggling preparations to become the governor-elect and assembling a statewide network of volunteers who can keep a close eye on local election canvassing boards.

Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, who said he drew death threats in the last recount, stepped on a political landmine Friday, with tweets that drew attention to the nearly 9,000-vote climb faced by GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer. Ritchie's Twitter activity brought flaming criticism from Republicans, led by former Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer, who is now a Republican lawmaker.

Underneath it all, county officials across the state began the methodical process of rounding up ballots and maintaining a round-the-clock guard.

The first batches of ballots rolled into the Hennepin County Government Center's loading dock throughout the day, first from Brooklyn Center, then Mound, then Shorewood. Loaded onto a cart and wheeled to a secured conference room two floors down, the ballots were checked and marked with a bar code under the sharp eyes of election workers and Hennepin County sheriff's deputies.

Only staff members with a special badge will be allowed into the ballot room -- and no one alone.

"We want to assure the public that these ballots are secure," said Jill Alverson, who heads the county's Taxpayer Services Department.

Under that plan, counting by local election officials won't even begin until Nov. 29. The state canvassing board won't certify results in the governor's race until Dec. 14.

Dayton said Friday that he's already chafing over the long lead time.

"The integrity is what has to be inviolable," Dayton said. "I don't think that's helped by protracting this any longer than is absolutely necessary."

The decision to go longer may rest in the hands of the recount's loser, who is allowed by law to appeal to a special judicial panel. An election certificate could not be issued until an election trial was resolved.

In short, whoever is trailing in December could keep the winner from being sworn into office for weeks -- past the usual Jan. 3 swearing-in.

Blurred lines

The line between a hard-charging partisan election campaign and the legal requirements of a recount can blur at times. On Friday, Dayton maintained that his choices of Ken Martin as recount manager and Denise Cardinal as recount media liaison were not based on politics. Martin and Cardinal were instrumental in high-profile, well-funded interest groups that spent months going after Emmer.

"The campaign is over," Dayton said Friday. Emmer has not made himself available for any media interviews since election night. An Emmer spokesman said that Emmer on Friday drove one of his sons to Canada, where the son plays hockey.

Mark Drake, Republican Party spokesman, said Dayton's picks signaled that Dayton won't be as nonpolitical during the recount as he said he would.

"The shell game continues," Drake said.

Republicans also plan to mount a statewide operation, but did not have specific numbers of staffers and volunteers available on Friday.

The GOP, however, did fire a shot at Ritchie over what they called "deeply inappropriate" Twitter postings. The tweets, from Ritchie's personal Twitter account, were sent out over the last few days, and included media reports and other conversations that underscored the idea that Emmer will have a tough time winning a recount.

Ritchie spokesman John Aiken said Friday: "We don't respond to partisan attacks. We remain focused on the potential recounts from the 2010 election."